Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BNS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE BNS traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 287,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,987,380. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $44.09 and a fifty-two week high of $78.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Canerector Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8,899.0% in the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 26,997,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,745,356,000 after purchasing an additional 26,697,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at $1,368,456,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,255 shares of the bank’s stock worth $726,704,000 after buying an additional 5,979,338 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 16,489,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,216,157,000 after buying an additional 5,461,052 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,120.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,295 shares of the bank’s stock worth $262,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,445,856 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.